Dead dog floating in suitcase found in St. Pete canal

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A dead pit-bull that was found inside a suitcase floating in a canal belonged to a mentally disabled couple.

On Wednesday around 5 p.m., officers were called to 100 14th Avenue South, the "Lotta Boat" Rentals, where an employee of the business reported finding a blue hard shell suitcase floating in the canal near the dock.

After retrieving the suitcase, the employee opened it to find a deceased female Pit bull inside. The dog, which was black and gray in color, weighing about 30 to 35, had obvious trauma to the head and lower body.

The pit-bull, named Beloved, belonged to a mentally disabled couple, Samuel Orsini and Gina Glass. Orsini says he was walking the dog a couple of days ago when it got loose. Beloved ran across 4th Street and was hit by a vehicle. He carried the dog back to the apartment and called the SPCA. They realized that the dog was dead and were told that it would cost $55.00 for the SPCA to take custody of the dead animal. They attempted to bury the dog on the property of the apartment complex, but the landlord refused and told them to place the dead dog in a dumpster. They refused and decided to submerge the dog in the "lake". They explained this was Beloved’s favorite spot.

Glass placed the dog in garbage bags and then in a blue suitcase. They had found the blue suitcase in a dumpster of their apartment complex. She partially filled the suitcase with water in an attempt to submerge the dead animal.